Corporate Camouflage is an Australian consumer transparency platform. This is the story of why it exists — the problem it's trying to solve and the values behind it.
# What Is Corporate Camouflage and Why We Built It
Corporate Camouflage started with a simple observation: Australian consumers have remarkably little reliable information about who owns the brands they buy every day.
In a bottle shop, a consumer might choose between what appears to be a dozen different beer brands. Many of them have authentic-sounding names and Australian imagery. Several are owned by one of two Japanese multinationals.
The same pattern appears in wine, spirits, food, insurance, and banking. Corporations have become skilled at creating brands that look independent. Consumers who care about supporting local, independent producers have no easy way to distinguish real independence from manufactured independence.
This isn't about telling people what to buy. It's about giving people the information to buy what they actually want.
Some consumers don't care whether a beer is owned by a Japanese multinational. That's a valid position. But some consumers specifically want to support independent, Australian-owned producers. Those consumers currently have no easy way to exercise that preference at the point of purchase.
Corporate Camouflage provides: - A database of brand ownership information, researched and verified - A Camouflage Score for each brand (1-10) measuring transparency - An iOS app (Behind the Brand) for instant barcode lookup - An AR scanner that overlays ownership information on any shelf - A verified independents directory - Editorial content explaining the ownership landscape
Corporate Camouflage is itself independently operated. We don't accept payments from brands to influence their ratings. Our Camouflage Scores are applied consistently and our methodology is publicly documented.
We're not anti-corporate. We're pro-information. The mission is consumer sovereignty — giving people the information to make choices that reflect their actual values.